And Once There Came Angels
by Mythyra Mystic
Summary: Set not so directly after the Season 4 finale (Does not stick close to story line, so probably considered to be sort of AUish). Something new has come to Heaven and it's thrown the angels into another disagreement. As usual it's to Winchester & Co. to save the day but it's a coin toss as to whether or not they'll need saving themselves! Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1: Clarification and the Arrival

_Underneath this warning is a series of spoilers. There aren't many of them and I don't think any more spoilers will occur during the rest of this story. But be warned and go on with care. Spoilers are evil. Intriguing but evil at the same time. If you see a spoiler warn others and give them a safety torch to carry on with. Also teach them the words to 'Carry on My Wayward Son' by Kansas. Anybody reading any sort of Supernatural fanfiction needs to know the words to that song so they can Keep Calm and Carry On. (Yes, I went there, I regret nothing.)_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing and regret even less._

Before I begin my story I want to clarify a few things. First off, the apocalypse happened; meaning that Michael and Lucifer are trapped in that cage. Second, Sam's soul was pulled out of the Pit and returned to his body, his grandfather was not brought back however. Thirdly, Dean was there when Sam was brought back- Sam fell in, Cass came back, Bobby woke up, and then a bright flash of pure white light and Sam was lying unconscious on the ground, alive and whole. No one knew who had saved him until an old friend showed up a few days later to help Castiel wrangle the angels and put Raphael back in his place. As it turns out, Gabriel did _not_ die, it was all just an elaborate hoax to save the Winchesters and give them a hidden edge over everybody. However when Sam fell into the Pit, well, let's just say that Gabriel has a soft spot in his heart for that moose. These days, Crowley is King of Hell, Gabriel is the leader of the angel (and by leader we mean he puts on a crown, flaunts around, gets bored, gives a few commands, and then lets Cass take everything from there), Sam and Dean are crashing at Bobby's for awhile until they figure out what they're going to do next, and Castiel, well, Castiel is still Castiel; he helps Gabriel and spends most of his free time with the Winchesters, specifically Dean.

There, now that you have all that information I'm going to tell you a story. This one begins just a few weeks after the apocalypse has been stopped. It begins up in Heaven, amongst a small oasis that was created by Adam and Eve. Amongst the beauty and peacefulness of Heaven's Garden of Eden a miracle takes place. Away from Adam's and Eve's eyes, sequestered in a small clearing of the garden a bright light- heavenly and blue- shone down unto the grounds. It spreads itself across the green grass, shuddering and shaking as it split into thirds. The largest portion of the light bunches in on itself, shrinking and shrinking until it was no bigger than a man's fist. The second largest bundle of light bloomed outwards, twisting and twirling about the air until it was the size of a basketball. The third glowing orb faltered for a moment or two, trying to decide on itself, before expanding some parts and shrinking others, in the end it was the size of a grapefruit and no different than before.

The lights flickered for a moment, as if hands were gently running over them, before drifting down to the ground finally. As they touched the Heaven built by human minds the three orbs twist again, growing in intensity until they lit up the surrounding landscape with their brilliance. It was a beacon few could miss.

Across Heaven, angels turned their heads wondering about the glow coming from the Garden of Adam and Eve. All across Heaven, angels spread their wings and fly, as one, towards the source.

Gabriel, the archangel and Trickster, arrived first. He had seen glows like this many times before but only ever when an angel was borne unto Heaven. In his excitement and hope his thoughts ran with the possibilities that perhaps their father had returned to them, perhaps God was giving them new siblings- or even reviving the ones they had all lost during the apocalypse. He stretched out his wings and let all three pairs beat against the wind as hard as they could, soon enough he was slipping into the garden and coming to a rest on the edge of the clearing.

It was not God; at least God wasn't anywhere nearby. Instead of their All Father, there were three bundles of crisp white linen lying in the center of the clearing; big, medium, and small in their sizes. Gabriel frowned.

"What is it?" Raphael asked, having arrived just behind his older brother. Gabriel let the disappointed creases wipe from his face and turned to the other angel, blade already in hand and paranoia rising up like bile. Even now, despite having knocked Raphael down a few pegs Gabriel did not trust the other archangel.

"Let's see," The Trickster suggested, an easy grin falling across his face to cover the disappointment of his still-absent father. He stepped from the tree line, nodding towards Castiel and Balthazar; both of whom had gathered on the other side of the circular clearing. Around them others gathered, angels of all sizes and ages gathered to check on the curious proceedings. Together, they pressed close, peering at the bundles and watching tensely, in fear of an attack.

Gabriel crept closer to the bundles, tilting his head to and fro as he looked at the mysterious objects. "Hmm," He hummed, a frown pulling his lips down and creasing his brow. Closer he crept, until he was able to peer at the closest bundle, the largest. If he'd had a heart and if stopping it would affect him at all the vision he saw would have killed him with surprise. He stepped up to see them all clearly.

The largest bundle was a child, well, they were all children, but of varying ages. The largest was clearly the oldest, looking to be four in human years. The next one was maybe two and resided in between the other two. The last one was the youngest and smallest, possibly an infant of only a year, maybe less. Each of them wore a glowing white halo over their heads and slept peacefully, angelic in their features and the identical smiles across their faces.

Gabriel choked on his next breath, his heart heavy in his chest and tears of joy in his eyes. He bent to retrieve the smallest bundle from the ground, thankful that Castiel was suddenly at his side to help hold the three children. The archangel passed him the youngest and carefully holding the eldest and middle child in his own arms. Turning, he saw the look on the angels gathering close and knew their shock, awe, and tearfulness reflected those displayed on his own face.

"Oh," Castiel breathed, cradling the young infant gently. The angel's blue eyes were wide, lips parted in a gasp, and eyebrows had long since disappeared into his vessel's black hairline. He felt so many emotions; awe simply by looking at the beauty of the creature he held, joy that he could hold it, happiness that it was to be a sibling, and the knowledge that it was an angel, a new, baby angel.

"Can you feel them?" Gabriel asked, choking on his words. "Can you feel their Grace?"

Angels across the grounds wept, nodding as they became aware of the three separate beings that had tapped into their angel radios. Even Raphael was crying, head in his hands as he knelt before the bearers of the children and blessed his new siblings with every atom that made up his soul. The angels sang out, calling for their father and rejoicing his name, in a harmony that touched souls down on Earth and thanks to the Father above.

Gabriel passed the smaller bundle off to Raphael to hold, and then he unwrapped the older child and holding it aloft for all of Heaven to see. Beautiful blonde curls spilled from the white blanket, coming to frame her adorable cherub face. Her skin was pale and pink, soft to the touch and warm. A pair of fluffy white wings softly twitched in the gentle breeze that forever existed in the garden, soft as chick down and large on her small childish form.

"Behold," the archangel announced, careful not to wake the little girl up. "Our sister."

"Amen." The angels replied.

The last archangels traded children. Taking the medium child Gabriel unwrapped her too. Like her sister she had lush locks of a pale blonde that curled against her face and flickering white wings that were fluffy and soft to the touch. Her skin was darker than her sister's but still pale and flawless in Heaven's gentle light.

"Behold," He was getting all choked up now and tears where on the verge of falling from his amber eyes. "Our sister."

"Amen." At least it didn't sound like he was the only one, several angels were sobbing, hanging off one another because they couldn't take so much happiness.

He exchanged the middle child for the youngest, holding her aloft and grinning through his teary eyes.

"Behold," Gabriel proclaimed proudly. "Our sister."

"Amen!" The angels sang back to him.

He brought his youngest sibling down into his arms again and unfolded her blanket, pulling it away from her small little body. Every angel stopped breathing as they looked at her, sweet and tiny with innocence.

"What... the fuck?" Gabriel asked because there wasn't really any other phrase that he could have used for this situation.

The tiny infant had red hair instead of gold, acceptable if a bit disappointing. She had soft pink skin, just like her sister's. She even had those soft cherub wings that were white and more fluff than anything else. However, the long red tail that wrapped around her waist and ended in the shape of a spade really threw everyone. In fact, it made all those present just a tad sick at the sight of it.

"A demon!" Someone cried out. It didn't carry through the crowd though because none of them felt the presence of such a creature. Instead of sinister waves of evil and the feeling of unprecedented darkness, cozy, pleasant warmth came back to them, as if it were an angel they were seeking had answered them.

Gabriel blinked. Then, he blinked again because he wasn't sure what to do. The thing in his arms yawned, opening up a jaw and allowing this long, forked tongue to slither out and lick the air, before peacefully settling back into sleep. The golden haired archangel shuddered at the sight of the disgusting appendage.

"Gabriel," Castiel trailed off, urgency in his voice. Turning his head to the right Gabriel caught sight of the middle child, yawning as well, and the rows of sharp, pointed teeth inside her mouth. He gulped even as she settled down to doze in the black haired angel's arms. His head swung left and saw that Raphael was already holding the eldest girl, horror clear on his face as he watched her own sharp teeth disappear again back behind her plump pink lips.

The three angels compared children, holding the girls away from themselves and inadvertently forming a ring with the children's heads. At that moment, the eldest and the middle child shifted again, eyes fluttering minutely before sleep came over them again. However, the sudden flashes were enough to make all three brothers worry even more. Instead of normal eyes or even glowing heavenly ones, both girls had completely pitch black eyes. Demon eyes.

"What is the meaning of this?" One of the angels hollered. "What are these- these _creatures_?!"

"Hush!" Gabriel commanded eyes still wide and body completely motionless as the infant shifted in his arms, her eyes fluttering enough to reveal a set of normal, stunning blue orbs that glowed ever so slightly with heavenly presence. When she stilled he felt safe enough to address his brethren. "They're not demons." He said this to the brunette angel in the back who'd screamed about them being demons. "They're not angels." Everyone shook their heads in agreement. "Right... So what the fuck are they?" Unfortunately, no one came to answer his question- mostly because no one knew what they were but... Yeah, actually it was _entirely_ because no one knew.

The leading archangel looked back down at the three children; the four year old, the two year old, and the infant, and worried. It was a sign... but of what?


	2. Chapter 2: The Plan and A Plot

_I want you all to know that I will be updating this story with four chapters every week. I know, you're excited, I can tell. You love me. The feeling is mutual, I assure you. No spoilers here folks! I own nothing but my own characters. Read and review please and thank you!_

Heaven was as chaotic as it had been only a few weeks ago. Well, perhaps even more so. The arrival of the three additional... creatures had caused panic and disagreement amongst the heavenly host of angels. The main topic, of course, was what they were going to _do_ with the disturbing little things. The answers varied, depending on which angel you talked to, but the argument was pretty much divided into two sides.

"I say, let us keep them! They are a gift from our Father unto us! They are our siblings and we should accept them!" That was the side of the fifty or so angels who Gabriel was fond of.

"Kill them!" And that was Raphael's side of the board; the side that consisted mainly of angels Gabriel suddenly disliked and wanted to disown.

The archangel looked thoughtfully down upon the child in his arms, batting around his own ideas and thoughts about the three. It hadn't taken long for him to know that he had every intention of keeping them, maybe not up here in Heaven but definitely keeping them. Now, he was worrying over how he was going to get the eldest child out of Raphael's hands. He didn't trust his archangel of a brother with her, especially not when said brother was arguing for their death.

"We dare not have them amongst us!" Raphael argued. "They might turn on us should they be allowed to infiltrate our ranks." The honey blonde angel couldn't help but wonder at Raphael's lack of knowledge of the word _hypocrite_.

He turned his head from Raphael's rant towards a quieter part of the gathering. Castiel, he noticed, had yet to say a word about the mysterious abominations the three of them held. Curious as to his brother's musing, Gabriel watched the angel's blue eyes, noting that they were as easy to read as ever.

A cycle of confusion and musing kept passing across the youngest angel- well, youngest pure angel's face, though his vessel's stoic features failed to move. The heavenly blue eyes roved over the naked babe even as most of Heaven argued around him. Seemingly unaware of the happenings Castiel reached a conclusion in the peacefulness of his own mind.

Gabriel grinned glad to have one of his most trusted brethren as a friendly on-the-same-wavelength cohort. He nudged the angel's arm with his elbow, carefully looking the other way as he garnered Castiel's attention. No one could know of their plan.

Catching his brother's eye, Castiel found a startling gleam in Gabriel's eye; the one he knew to go hand-in-hand with his brother's mischievous behavior. Trying not to draw attention to them Gabriel blinked twice, indicating his desire to converse more privately.

They focused on each other, tuning all others out from their angel radios.

_Gabriel?_ Castiel thought, indicating he was open to his brother's plans.

_Look, we can't let Raphael have his way with this one._ The archangel thought to him insistently. _We've got to protect these little guys!_

_Yes, but how?_ Cass questioned. They fell silent, pondering different plans to save the newborn angel... demon things. Not for the first time Castiel was at a loss. They couldn't simply slip away from the angels, everyone would notice Gabriel's disappearance. Maybe not Cass's but definitely Gabriel's. The matter got even more complicated when he was reminded that Raphael had a hold of one of the three children, taking it from him would not be so easy. And even if they did grab it from him they would still have to escape- something Gabriel could do but Castiel would have a great deal of trouble with considering it was _Raphael_ he would be running from. Raphael was faster than him, bigger than him, and a lot more prone to violence than he was. The black archangel would have no trouble- or problems- beating Castiel half to death, of that he was sure of.

_Hey, I've got it._ Gabriel told him over their two-way connection. Glancing out of the corner of his eye Castiel saw the short archangel grin deviously. _Go ahead of me, alert the Winchester boys to our predicament._

_What about you?_ Castiel almost hissed back.

_We can't both go!_ Gabriel informed him, as if Castiel hadn't already figured that out. _If I try to come with you they'll all notice. Raphael particularly! No, it's safer if you go alone._

_And what of this child?_ The black haired angel asked, holding the middle child out minutely. _Surely, they'll notice her disappearance as well?_

_Yeah, they will..._ Gabriel bit his lip and thought quickly. _Alright, new plan, I'll take her, you slip away and tell those two idiots down there I'm coming, I'll grab the big one from Ralphie and meet you over at their place?_

_That's... That's a good plan._ Castiel informed him, astonishment clear in his thoughts.

_Shut up. I do occasionally have good thoughts you know!_ The archangel snapped, irritated by his younger brother's doubt in him.

Castiel did not agree with him. Instead, the taller angel changed the subject by shifting the larger child closer to Gabriel. _Here, I will alert Dean and Sam._ Gabriel frowned at him, following it up with a glare that informed the other angel that they would be discussing this at a later, better time.

Slowly, careful not to disturb the sleeping toddler or to alert any angel, Gabriel took the child from Castiel. They gave each other a quick, reassuring nod before the blue-eyed angel turned to leave. _Cassie,_ Gabriel called out to him. _Be fast. And make sure they're absolutely ready by time I get there. I'll be in a hurry so I'll be coming in hot._

Nodding, Castiel stepped through dimensions, spreading his wings as he took off for Earth.

Behind him, in Heaven, Gabriel settled back like there wasn't anything wrong with the Universe. Occasionally, noticeable only to those who happened to be staring straight at him- which, thankfully no one was- his amber eyes darted off to the right, looking at Raphael and the four year old he held in his arms. Edging closer, Gabriel began plotting a way to snatch the child away.


	3. Chapter 3: Wings

When Castiel arrived on Earth it was shrouded in darkness. Remarkably enough, this was the normal kind of darkness that could usually be found on this side of the Earth at twelve o'clock at night instead of the apocalyptic shroud of death and despair that had occurred over the past year or so. Throughout the Singer household there was a kind of absolute silence; something Castiel usually basked in while it lasted. Today, however, there was no time for that.

He located Dean quickly enough; the man having been confined, once again, to the sofa in Bobby's living room because Sam had taken the guest room and refused to share the bed. Under normal circumstances Castiel would have watched over the suffered human; would have watched as the years of horrors and adrenaline was replaced with a kind of numbness and peacefulness. Tonight, Dean was lucky to have a peaceful slumber, for once, uninterrupted by nightmares of Hell or any of the other horrors he'd been through during his lifetime. But tonight he didn't have time for it. The angel felt bad about it, because he really did care for Dean's health and sanity, despite the man's claims that he didn't, but- seeing as this was an emergency- he woke the brunette up.

"Dean!" The hunter woke the way he always did; suddenly, with a preposterous amount of thrashing, heart pounding, and with a pathetic cry of 'Ugha huhg!'. Twisting spastically Dean finally got his feet planted on the floor and was able to sit upright. It took him a few more moments to come down off of his adrenaline rush to compute that it was a tall, black-haired, blue-eyed angel wearing a trench coat that stood in front of him and not just another monster.

"Cass!" The eldest Winchester whined, rubbing a hand over his face. He looked more rested than the last time Castiel had seen him, though he hadn't shave in what might have been the entire twenty-one days Cass had been gone. "What do you want?" The whine was still there. Under normal circumstances Castiel might have found it endearing but today, with everything already dropping into chaos, he found that Dean was irritating when he whined.

Dean tugged at his black AC/DC t-shirt and rubbed his eyes again. Blinking up at the angel in the trench coat Dean found himself very confused. Behind Castiel, stretching themselves out and quivering ever so slightly from the strain he'd put on them hurrying here, was a pair of large, feathery black wings. "Cass?"

"Dean, please we have no time. Get up." Castiel brushed by the couch, heading for the stairs that lead up to the second floor bedrooms. "Hurry!" He called over his shoulder, glaring at the Winchester still sitting numbly on the ratty piece of furniture.

Incredulously, the brunette turned, watching as the wings tucked themselves against Cass's shoulders to avoid knocking into the wall or stairwell. "Wait, what? Cass?" The angel disappeared upstairs. Even from downstairs Dean could hear him opening doors and slamming them shut again as he went along the corridor searching for the other two men.

Dean stood up, shaking his head in confusion at the angel's behavior and grabbed the demon knife from under his pillow, just in case. "Cass!" He hollered, padding across the wood floors barefoot after the angel.

"SAM!" Even the older Winchester flinched that time. The cry was followed by another, much more panicked yelp, and then by a heavy thump as the tall moose fell from his bed to the floor. Rolling his eyes, Dean took the stairs two at a time and met Castiel as he was coming out of Sam's room.

"Quickly Sam!" The angel snapped, directing a glare to the youngest of the group.

"Cass-"

"Stop, wait." The angel commands, his voice hard with an edge the brunette hasn't heard since they became friends. He brushes past the freckled man and continues to Bobby's room. Dean doesn't stop him but that's only because he's still staring at those wings; those big black wings, tucked against the back of his best friend.

"Bobby-" Castiel ducks as a shoe came flying towards his head. As he crouches, his wings flair out behind him, helping to keep balance him as the object flies over his head. Frowning, Castiel looks into the room.

"Shut up ya idjit," Bobby barks, pulling on a plaid shirt over his white night shirt. "I'm up, what is it?"

"Gabriel is coming, you need to be ready." The black haired angel says while standing, his gruff voice full of urgency. He turns to the other two standing in the hallway staring openly at his wings as they again tuck themselves up close.

"Um, Cass?" Sam asks hesitantly. "When, um, when did you get wings?"

This time, it's Castiel who is surprised, the angel stares at them, blinking slowly. "How-" He stops and draws back, tilting his head to the left before blinking at them again. "You perceive my wings?" It occurred to him then that, in his haste to reach the three men, he had unintentionally forgot to shield them from human eyes. It was a mistake that could have cost these humans their eyes.

"Are your... _wings_ usually big, black and- and fucking feathery?" Dean asked carefully. Castiel nods, blue eyes wide with the astonishment at this news. "Wow." The angel agreed silently, knowing that he had once again underestimated the Winchester's abilities. Very few humans could perceive an angel's true form and voice and, when they had first met, Castiel had already determined that Dean and Sam and Bobby were not amongst those humans. However, it had never occurred to him that, with all their recent deaths and now Sam's pull from the Cage, they had changed a lot over the last year or so. It amazed him that the Winchester's- and friends- never ceased to amaze him.

"You are-" He'd wanted to congratulate them, to tell them how much they impressed him, an angel of the Lord. At that moment however the house began shaking, glass rattling and books falling from their shelves and off tables, in a ruckus that startled everyone. It reminded Cass why he was there in the first place. "Quickly, Gabriel is coming!"

He charged down the hallway, rushing past Dean who and down the hallway, his wings again stretching out to compensate for his unstable balance.

Sam stopped his brother from following. "Pants!" He cried shoving Dean in the direction of his room, where they had both been storing their clothes. Dean looked down to see his black boxers and bare feet before nodding and slipping past Bobby as the old man joined Sam in heading downstairs. Sam in the lead they rushed down, grabbing various items of protection as they followed Castiel into the living room.

A few moments later, the eldest Winchester stumbled back out into the hallway. Struggling into a pair of jeans he hoped were his, Dean charged down the stairs. The brunette managed to slide into the room just as Gabriel ripped through dimensions. A huge gust of air had the humans stumbling backwards; shielding their eyes from the strong, biting cold wind. Papers flew from their position on the floor and the nearby table and into the air, joining the century's worth of dust to create a whirlwind of white and dirt. When it settled the humans shook themselves, blinking they caught sight of the archangel trickster as he brought his wings back again. The pairs of immense golden wings curled backwards, framing the short angel and dwarfing Castiel's own black ones easily. Incredibly, the archangel had two large wings at the top of his shoulders, a smaller set beneath those, tucked more closely to his body and in front of the bigger ones, and an even smaller pair underneath those, closest to his body and at the forefront of all of them. The humans gaped at the sight of them, finally understanding that angels were considered to be creatures of majesty and grace not only because of their connections to God or the fact that they were holy creatures.

"Cass!" Gabriel panted, panic in his voice even as he spoke. "They know you're in cahoots with me!" He crossed the living room's expanse, short legs stretching wide to cover the distance from windows to couch. Quickly the honey blonde candy-eater set his burdens down onto the couch in a bundle of white cloth. "We've got to draw them away!"

"Away? Wait, who away?" The Dean asked, stepping forward.

"The angels are hunting us Dean." Castiel explained, already unfolding his wings.

"What?!" Dean exclaimed, staring at the two angels. "Why?"

"Because we're protecting those guys, Dean-o." Gabriel said jerking his thumb back towards the couch. He turned back to his brother and ignored the interruption of the annoying human man. "Come on Cass, we've got less than a minute before Raphael catches up to me."

"Wait," Sam stepped up to stand beside Dean, holding out a hand to stop the two angels. Gabriel let out a noise of frustration and turned his head to give the younger Winchester an annoyed stare.

"No time to explain Sammy gotta run! See ya boys later." Unfolding their individual pairs of wings Gabriel and Castiel turned to face the window. "Put as many angel wards on _every _surface as you can guys!" The eldest angel called over his shoulder. "Every surface!"

"I will return Dean, Sam," Castiel told them, nodding over his left shoulder to reassure them even as he pushed his wings down. The combination of Gabriel's wings and Cass's forced the three humans to the floor. A mere moment later both angels were gone and paper was still tumbling to the floor.

"Jesus Christ!" Dean exclaimed, rolling to his feet as he looked around the room.

Beside him Sam coughed, he turned over onto his hands and knees, squinting through the disaster area to see Bobby shaking the impact off. Staggering up from his position and waving away the dust from in front of his face, Sam coughed again. "How come we've never seen that before?" He asked, referring to the chaos and destruction that had come from the angel's wings.

His older brother sneezed before shrugging. "Beats me." The other brunette said, voice gagging on the mustiness still hanging about in the air.

Behind them, Bobby grumbled all the way to his feet. Pausing to dust out his cap and wipe away the layer of grime from his face the older man turned his head to glare at the mess the angels made with their departure. He made a mental note to dust and clean the place up before any more angels came to visit. Then, Bobby leaned against the couch to clear his old lungs and found the present Gabriel had left for them. Well, to be a little bit more exact he found the _three_ presents the trickster had left for them. All of which were hastily wrapped in white linen and sleeping peacefully on Dean's haphazardly vacated bed.

"Balls." He cursed.


End file.
